Page 28 of The Christmas Holiday
‘I’m not comparing myself!’
Hunter shot me a look that said he didn’t believe that for a minute, just as Olivia and Sandeep got to us.
‘Hi!’ Liv greeted us both with big hugs. ‘Oh my God, I love your dress! It’s so pretty – and that colour is absolutelyperfect on you!’
‘Thanks! I was just saying to Hunter, you look absolutely stunning.’
‘Oh, thank you! I’m afraid I was bad and had a bit of a shop for the trip before we left.’
I grinned. ‘That’s what holidays are for, aren’t they?’
She flipped out her hand. ‘See?’ she said, catching Sandy’s eye, ‘that’s exactly what I said! Sandy couldn’t understand it and said I already had plentyof clothes.’ She paused. ‘OK. So that bit’s true. But still…’
‘It’s all part of the holiday ritual.’
‘Exactly!’ Liv smiled widely while Sandy held up his hands and Hunter remained impassive either way. ‘I just knew we were going to get on! So, how was your day? Hunter told us you were going out today to explore the city and get some work done for the travel pieces. How did it go?’
As my thoughts drifted back over the day, I couldn’t stop the smile that formed, ‘Amazing. Totally.’
‘Really?’
I saw Liv’s eyes shift briefly to Hunter and then back to me. I ignored it. It was hard to blame her for thinking along those lines. He was undeniably gorgeous and I was pretty sure a lot of the other female journalists he’d worked with might have spent the afternoon discoveringa whole different kind of passion for the country than I had. I was sure Olivia knew that too. But still, not me. Been there, done that. Quite literally. I was a professional journalist who could deal with anything.
‘Oh, bloody hell! Seriously?’ I huffed.
OK then. Most things. I sighed as another bit of hair broke free of my plait and sproinged out at a weird angle. I poked it viciouslyback in with my finger as we all got into the limo.
‘Humidity?’ Liv asked, sympathy in her eyes.
‘Hmm,’ I replied, flicking my plait back behind me in the hope that out of sight was out of mind, resigning myself to the fact that sleek and chic were not going to be my watchwords for style on this part of the trip.
‘It still looks lovely, don’t worry. You’ve got this whole elegant, Bohovibe going on. It’s very in.’
‘I do? It is?’ I had to admit, I didn’t tend to follow fashion all that much and had always just worn what I liked. If I was honest, the fashion editor at the paper scared the bejeezus out of me, and if we were being really honest, I was pretty sure Jeremy felt the same way. Whenever I saw the pieces they did from the fashion shows most of it looked utterly bonkers.I just didn’t get it.
‘Absolutely,’ Liv nodded. ‘I’ve got a copy ofVoguein my room. There was a look in there very similar to this.’ She waved her hand over me. ‘I’ll show you. You’re totally on trend.’
‘Oh. Right. I guess that’s good.’ I smiled, slightly bemused. I had no idea if it was good or if I even wanted to be “on trend” but I did like the fact that I suddenly felt a lot morecomfortable in Liv’s stunning presence.
‘I did already tell her she looked fine.’
Olivia sucked in some air and her perfectly made-up eyes widened. ‘You told her she looked… fine?’
Next to her, Sandeep winced a little.
Hunter shrugged. ‘Yeah. She does.’
Liv gave me a look. ‘Men.’
I tilted my head at her in agreement and we both looked back out the window.
‘Wait. Whatthe hell does that mean?’
‘It means,’ Olivia began, turning back, ‘that “fine” is not a word best used when you are trying to flatter a woman. Fine implies OK, you’ll do, it’s all right. No woman wants to hear she looks “all right”. It’s not exactly a compliment.’
‘I was just… Jesus… never mind!’
Across the car, Sandy laughed.
